That One Time At Asian Camp
by Fangirl.StarterPack
Summary: This was Noah Puckerman's worst nightmare: being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of ignorant children and Rachel Berry - and Rachel wasn't too happy about the situation either. However, when your friends' reputations are on the line, sometimes you've just got to get on with things. That's something both Noah and Rachel will just have to learn the hard way. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

"This is such bullshit!"

"Dude, not to be rude, but I'm not exactly happy about this either." Mike's eyes widened as Puck suddenly stopped his furious pacing, turning to lean in towards him threateningly.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Puck seethed, narrowing his eyes at his flustered friend.

"I-I just mean... You're not the best role model for little kids, are you?"

"What are talking about? I look after my sister all the time," Puck huffed, falling back into his desk chair. Mike was still rigid on the edge of Puck's bed, worried that he would turn around and punch him if he put a foot wrong.

"Sarah's not exactly... You know..."

"Okay, one; shut the fuck up. Sarah's a badass. And, two; I could probably teach those kids something a lot more useful than you and Stutter, prancing around the room like a pair of fucking pansies."

"This is exactly why I told your mom this was a bad idea," Mike sighed, putting his head in his hands in total distress.

"Yeah, well, you obviously didn't get the message across," Puck scoffed, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes.

When his mom told him he had to get a more stable job than cleaning pools this summer, he had expected to go work at the garage with Kurt's dad or something. He hadn't expected his mom to go all psycho and asks Mike's mom to let him help at Asian Camp. He wasn't even fucking Asian! And to make matters worse? She knew about the party he wanted to throw at the end of summer. He'd asked Sarah to behave over the holiday so she would be allowed to have a sleepover at a friend's house - thinking he could trust her with the information that he wanted to have 'a special sleepover' of his own with a few of his friends - but as soon as his mom grilled her enough (and bought her a new Barbie) she sang like a Canary. So his mom made a rule: if he went to Asian Camp with Mike, in the last few days of summer, when they got home, he could plan and throw his party before school started. Puck didn't think that was really fair - why should he have to give up his whole summer for one fucking party? But his mom was stubborn as hell and he knew he wasn't getting round this. Still, that didn't stop him from having a good old moan about it.

"So what's the plan? What... What do I have to do?" Puck would normally fight until his last breath to get out of something like this, but not against his mom. He knew it was her way or the highway.

"You need to be ready for after our last Glee rehearsal on Thursday so we can drive up to camp. Your mom said you'd drive if I gave you money for gas."

"Did she now," Puck mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"And when we get there, we'll need to help set up for the next day when the kids arrived. You'll just have to help me and Tina with the activities and make sure none of the kids die. Do you think you can do that?" Mike raised an eyebrow at him, making Puck roll his eyes again.

"Dude, I'm not incapable." He lost his grumpy mood for a minute, a smug smirk etching its way onto his face. "And what will I be doing while you and Tina bang in the bunk next to me?"

"Fuck off!" Mike launched a pillow at Puck's head, making Puck laugh. "Seriously, I'm asking you to do two things while we're at camp: do not fuck up with the kids and do not fuck up with Tina. You're not ending my relationship by pissing her off and making me cover your ass."

"Okay! I'll behave!"

"Pfft. Behave. Yeah okay. You don't even know the meaning of the word." Mike shook his head, rising to his feet to slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Just be less... You. Try and be at least slightly approachable."

As Mike was walking out of Puck's room, the message behind what Mike had said finally hit him.

"Hey! I am fucking approachable, you asshole!"

… … … …

"Rachel, I am begging you. I really think this would be good for you."

"I don't know. My whole summer?" Rachel was definitely reluctant. She'd never been away from home for her whole summer before - and she'd certainly never imagined she would be away for her whole summer looking after tiny children with two of her friends from Glee Club.

"It's a lot more fun than it sounds. And it's not the whole summer; you still get a week when we get back," Tina shrugged, readjusting her position on Rachel's bed so she was lying on her stomach.

Tina had been coming over to Rachel's a lot recently. Unbeknown to the other Glee members, Finn and Rachel had recently broken up after she caught him kissing Quinn under the bleachers after football practise. Tina had been with her and had driven her home, where they sat in her room, watching musicals and eating vegan ice cream until she had to get back for curfew. Tina had been surprised when Rachel didn't seem that upset over Finn's cheating, and when she asked her the next day why the meltdown she'd expected never came, Rachel told her that she already had a feeling and that her and Finn were slowly fizzling out anyway. She broke up with Finn later that day and he started secretly dating Quinn, but they allowed the others to believe they were still together. Rachel had told Tina everything, though, because Tina was one of the only people she trusted. Rachel didn't want to go through summer and then into senior year bearing this secret on her own. She also didn't like the idea of spending her entire summer with screaming little brats, but the idea of spending the summer without Tina to keep her company was pretty hard to think about.

"I don't think I'd be very useful," Rachel muttered, playing with a spear thread on her bedding, trying to avoid Tina's stare.

"Rach, it's looking after six year olds who barely turn their attention away from their phones for more than two seconds," Tina scoffed, making Rachel giggle. "And it's better than sitting here, on your own, worrying about what you're gonna do when people find out Finn and Princess Quinn are now together. Not that I think you should give the slightest piece of shit because you're a better person that the both of them put together."

"Don't you want to spend this time with Mike? This is literally the only alone time you two get."

"Rachel, you know I love Mike more than anything else in this world. But after spending over a hundred days with him, on my own, my patience becomes thinner and my need to inflict pain on him becomes more prominent," she teases, making Rachel laugh again. At the minute, Tina was the only person who could make Rachel laugh. "And Mike loves you - I'm sure he'll like the extra conversation."

"Are you really sure about this?" Rachel asked sceptically. She really didn't want to intrude and part of her didn't really care what she did this summer - she didn't even see the point.

"Of course I am. It will be fun! And camp is the best place to get a good tan - I promise you. I really want you to come with me." She smiles at her, eyes pleading. With a hesitant sigh of defeat, Rachel nods.

"Okay. Okay, fine. I would be honoured." Tina squeals in delight, moving forward to hug Rachel tight. Rachel liked having a friend like Tina. Sure, she had Kurt and Mercedes, but they mainly saw her as a project to make more fashionable and to try and 'tone down her crazy'. Tina liked Rachel just as she was - horse sweaters and craziness and all. And right now, Rachel just needed someone who liked her as she was. She needed someone to help her forget about Finn and how she would always be second best to Quinn Fabray and how she was alone once again. A break would be good for her - a clean slate for Senior Year.

"Now," Tina said, pulling away from her. "It's my turn to choose a film and I think there's only really one option." She held up Ten Things I Hate About You, laughing as Rachel groaned.

"We watched that last time!"

"And it hasn't gotten any worse since so we're watching it again," Tina replied smugly, slipping the disk into Rachel's DVD player before getting comfortable.

Yeah, Rachel wouldn't mind doing this all summer.


	2. Chapter 2

They were kissing. They were kissing and she could see that they were kissing and everyone else could see that they were kissing. That wasn't part of the plan. That's not what they'd agreed. Rachel said she wanted to tell the others when she was ready. She thought she deserved that considering it was _Finn_ who had cheated on _her._ Surely it was down to her when she let the rest of the group know that she, once again, was unwanted. Obviously her, Finn, and Quinn weren't on the same page- no, scrap that, they weren't even in the damn book.

"Breathe." Tina coaxed her into moving forward, uneven steps guiding her towards the chairs as Rachel tried to avoid the shocked stares of her fellow Glee Club members. She sat near the back with Tina and Mike, Mike giving her a sad look as a wave of understanding moved between them. Rachel wanted the wave of understanding, along with the sympathetic looks she was receiving, to suffocate her – drag her under until she didn't even exist. She almost laughed at herself – this was the first time in her life that she didn't want to be noticed.

"I guess Berry got dumped for the princess… Again." Santana had a smug look on her face, sat in the front row and filing her manicured nails. Rachel cringed, feeling the embarrassed blush blossom on her cheeks as her head dropped, the floor suddenly becoming a lot more interesting.

What also didn't help Rachel was when Noah walked, his step faltering as his eyes came across the two lovers, still fully immersed in each other. Only Rachel would have noticed the flicker of pain that reached his eyes – Noah wasn't the easiest person to read at the best of times. She wanted to apologize to him, but what exactly could she say? _Sorry I couldn't make Finn want me and now he's sucking the face off of the girl you love. My bad._ But Noah just rolled his eyes, making his way over to her as the rest of the choir room broke out into a gossip-fest.

"He break up with you?" Noah asked quietly, standing in the row below hers as though not to intimidate her. She couldn't contain her scoff.

"I broke up with him." It annoyed her that that was so hard to believe. She knew what they were thinking, that there was no way Rachel Berry would even fathom the idea of breaking up with her beloved Finn Hudson. They thought she was pathetic and desperate enough to just put up with him.

Noah raised an inquisitive eyebrow, not even needing to ask. What Rachel liked was that he wasn't shocked or even remotely judgemental of her actions – for some reason it made her feel like she could trust him. She shrugged.

"He cheated." Noah poked his tongue into his cheek in annoyance, exhaling all of the air in his lungs harshly through his noes before turning towards the couple in the front row.

"Hey, asshole," Noah called to them, taking a few attempts before they finally split apart, turning to face Puck. Finn's eyes darted to Rachel, shooting her an apologetic look that made her want to shoot him. He wasn't sorry about what he'd done; he'd intended to rub it in her face. "Congratulations on making everyone in here really fucking uncomfortable. Stop playing with your girlfriend's tonsils for five minutes before someone has to surgically remove your tongue from her throat." Rachel can't help the smirk as Finn blushes, sitting forward in his chair and awkwardly apologizing to the rest of the room. She catches Noah's smug expression as he looks back at her briefly before taking a seat where he is. It's then she notices the huge duffle bag he's carrying with him, along with another suitcase that's been shoved in the corner of the room next to his guitar.

"Noah?" She asks quietly, leaning forward as he turns around to look at her. "What's with the-"

She doesn't get to finish, Mr Schue walking into the room with his normal overly enthusiastic attitude, already making several of the Glee members either roll their eyes or scoff. Noah raised his eyebrow at her again, but this time she just shook her head – brushing it off. It's not like it was any of her business anyway. Her and Noah weren't even friends; who was she to start questioning him about his life and what type of bag he brought to school. Let's face it, her schoolbag had wheels and a long metal handle – she was in no position to make any judgements.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to your final Glee rehearsal of the school year. I suppose you're all really looking forward to the summer break," a few people cheered, but Rachel just crossed her arms. She was still reluctant about her plans for the summer and wasn't really feeling in the mood to celebrate. From the way Noah's shoulders slouched, he didn't really seem all that up for it either. "However, we still have some business to attend to before I let you go." The word 'Sectionals' was scribbled largely on the whiteboard. Rachel hadn't even had time to think about Sectionals. She normally had her solo prepared and at least a dozen ideas ready by now. At that exact moment, she had nothing – not a single dance move or note in her mind. "I thought we should probably start generating some ideas for our numbers and what songs we wanted to use. I was thinking we'd have a solo, a duet, and a group performance to finish. So, Finn? Rachel? Why don't you come up here and we'll start planning for your duet-"

"No!" Rachel abruptly interjected, the rest of the group turning to look at her in shock. She sunk slowly back into her seat, wishing the ground would swallow her whole. "I just… I mean…" Rachel could _not_ handle performing a duet with Finn right now. It would be awkward to the point where she would potentially throw up. She couldn't deal with forcing herself to pretend she was still in love with him while singing some sappy love ballad even though everyone else knew they were done. She couldn't deal with Quinn glaring at her from the side and starting to question whether Rachel still had feelings for Finn or not – even though she absolutely didn't. She couldn't deal with the pressure; she couldn't handle the heat and therefore was getting as far away from the kitchen as she possibly could. "It has come to my attention that Finn and I tend to be awarded the duet role in many of our performances for competitions while I also take on the solo," she started, holding her head high and speaking in that obnoxious way to hold the 'smart, good choir girl' façade everyone knew her for. She bet none of them even had the slightest idea that she could swear like a drunken sailor and wore skinny jeans with Tina all the time. "This also made me aware of the lack of team participation when it comes to these vital positions and I do not believe it is fair that I receive all of the pressure of carrying the team to Nationals."

"Rachel, I don't think I understand what you're saying." Mr Schue looked at her in extreme confusion, almost taken aback.

"I'm _saying_ … I think the duet she be given to someone else."

A stunned silence overcame the room, everyone staring at Rachel in utter shock. Mr Schue still didn't get it.

"Someone… Else?"

"Someone who isn't me and Finn," she nodded at him.

"Rachel, did someone _die_? Are _you_ dying?" Kurt almost looked worried, leaning over the back of his chair and trying to assess her mental state with his eyes.

"Something's wrong. Rachel Berry would fight until her last breath for a chance to be in the spotlight – not just give it up when it's handed to her on a plate," Mercedes addressed the room as though Rachel wasn't even there.

"Are you seriously doing this because you and Finn broke up?" Mike tried to ask quietly, but in a room where everyone is focusing on Rachel and what is being said to her, that's pretty freaking hard.

"Wait, Finn and Rachel broke up?" _Bless you, Mr Schue._

"This is just another way for her to get attention and you're all buying it," Santana scoffed, still focused on her nails.

"Berry, are you okay?" Noah's hand was on her knee, grounding her to Earth with a single touch. She stared at it for a moment, lips parted as she analysed how she felt about this. Normally, the idea of Noah putting his hands anywhere near her made her mind zoom to the image of slushies and rude gestures. Sometimes it even made her think back to their week-long romance and what devilish things he could actually _do_ with those hands, but she didn't like to think about that for too long. Right in that moment something just felt… Different. It was soft and caring – a side she hadn't seen from Noah in a very long time and one that she thought would ever be directed at her again. He squeezed her knee gently, causing her to look up at him. He had a questioning, slightly anxious look as her eyes met his and that 'different' feeling was what made her move ever so slightly from his grasp. She didn't want 'different' to lead somewhere that could hurt her. If anyone could break her heart, if anyone could pull her in just to tear her apart, she knew that person was Noah Puckerman. Noah Puckerman could do anything he put his mind to – she didn't want him to put his mind to her.

"I'm perfectly fine," she told him, forcing a smile. "I understand the shock considering my previous reactions to this topic, but there is _so much talent_ in this room that we don't utilize which might be the reason we haven't won Nationals yet. I could imagine Tina and Mike preparing something incredible together that incorporates singing and dancing, the same with Brittany and Kurt. Or we could do something more upbeat and feisty with Santana and Mercedes. Or – do you know what would be unbelievable? Noah and Artie would blow the judges away with a pop-rock-punk-guitar duet." Noah made a face, a small blush creeping on his cheeks that only she would notice. "Noah, you have an outstanding voice that would add some versatility to the competition. Don't shy away; you're great as you are now, but you could be extraordinary with a little belief in yourself." She looked up at Mr Schue, the confusion gone and something that looked like pride gracing his face as he smiled back at her. "I just don't think we should waste all this potential on something that's now very… Outdated." She could see Tina smirk out of the corner of her eye at her reference to her relationship with Finn and, yeah, it made her feel pretty good. "All of you guys I just mentioned have just as much talent as I do and it shouldn't be ignored. I've just kicked up more of a fuss than you have over the years." She mentally congratulated herself on her sly dig at Quinn for not mentioning her, knowing just by glancing at her face that it catastrophically pissed her off.

"And what about me?" Finn jumped in, glaring at her and the rest of the room. "The duet is the only time I get noticed and now just because Rachel is feeling generous, I have to miss out too?"

Rachel wanted to laugh. She couldn't believe he actually thought he _deserved_ the duet role after how he'd treated her. Sure, Finn cheating on Rachel and getting back together with Quinn didn't affect the rest of the group, but the members in this group all showed a certain amount of loyalty and respect to each other. Finn had broken all of that with Rachel by cheating on her and while it didn't mean everyone should turn their back on him or shun him from the group, it should count for something – Rachel's feelings should count for something.

"You know what, Finn?" She started, smiling angrily at him and shaking her head. "Have the solo." People actually gasped – even Santana was engaged now.

"Rach…" Tin said softly, putting a gentle hand on her arm as though telling her to take it easy. Rachel just looked at her and shrugged.

"No, it's okay. He took everything else so why shouldn't he take this too?" She turned back towards Finn. "I hope it makes you happy. And I hope _she_ makes you happy because I won't be there for you to come back to if she doesn't. I may be a high-maintenance, snobby Jewish girl who doesn't know how to keep her opinions to herself and constantly wants to be in the spotlight, but I _know_ I deserve a lot better than you." Finn looked down, so she turned her attention to Mr Schue. "If it's okay with you, I would much rather have a smaller part in the actual performing of the songs and instead take a more directorial role in helping the team." She smiled sadly at Tina. "There's always next year for singing."

"That's more than okay, Rachel. I would appreciate the help," he smiled at her, nodded encouragingly, and then turned to the rest of the group. "So. Shall we begin?"


	3. Chapter 3

The drive up to the campsite had been a very long and very frustrating one for Puck. Mike spent most of his time picking the music ( _"Change the station one more time and I'll rip your dick off."_ ) while Puck tried desperately to concentrate on the road. He didn't have a fucking clue where he was going, but Mike wasn't terrible at giving directions and they'd managed to have some basic chats about football and Call Of Duty, which was great. That was until Mike started to bring up what happened today in Glee club or, more specifically, Rachel Berry.

"So, no more Finchel, eh? I thought they'd last longer than that."

"It was obvious it wasn't going to work out." Puck rolled his eyes. He knew for a fact Finn was only using Rachel to make Quinn jealous. And, yeah, it pissed him because this was his one chance to show Quinn that he could be a good dad and that they could get their kid back and be a happy family, but Saint-Fucking-Finn always has to come in and screw things up. Maybe it ticked him off a little bit that Finn had taken Rachel for granted _again_ as well, but no fucking way was he going to admit that to anyone. He and Rachel weren't even close to being friends. In fact, ninety-nine percent of the time he imagined someone surgically removing her voice box, but they had a mutual understanding on this topic. If there ever came a time that Puck wanted to talk about his feeling on the subject of Finn stealing the only girl that he's ever loved and how insecure that made him feel, he would go to Rachel. Not that that was ever, _ever_ going to happen.

"Yeah, I just don't get why Rachel gave up the duet _and_ the solo. I mean, yeah, the duet I get, but she could have done it with someone else. And the solo? I honestly didn't think things would get to the point where she didn't even want some main role in the club."

"Dude, it's not any of our business. Besides, Berry is going to be doing what Berry does best – bossing everyone around and making our performance exactly how she wants it. I'd hardly call that a minor role in the club." Puck scoffed. They still had another half hour in this car and the last thing he wanted to talk about was Rachel Berry. He couldn't be less interested in the topic if he tried.

"I mean, it might be some of _your_ business." Okay, and now he was interested.

"Meaning?"

"Well, there was the shouting at Finn and the knee holding and the intense staring… Seemed pretty intimate to me." Mike shrugged, watching Puck's jaw tick with an odd sense of satisfaction. "Do I need to roll out the Puckleberry banner?"

"I'm going to give you three chances to stop talking before I throw you out of this truck and make you walk the rest," Puck mumbled, gripping the steering wheel with immense force.

"It's just Finn and Quinn are quite clearly a thing now-"

"One."

"And you and Rachel are both very single-"

" _Two."_

"Why can't you see that this would be good for both of you? God, Puck, you haven't let your guard down to anyone since Beth was born – not even me," Mike scolded, seeing the anger begin to bubble over in Noah.

"Shut the fuck up, Mike! Why the fuck should I explain shit to you?! Why the fuck should I explain shit to _anyone?!_ "

"Puck, calm down-"

"It was my kid and my girl and my fucking problem – not yours, not anyone else's. And if you think for one second that Rachel-fucking-Berry is gonna waltz into my life with her gold stars and her can-do attitude then your more stupid than I thought." Puck's chest was heaving, his tongue wrapped in barbed wire and oozing with venom. He was pissed. He was pissed to the point where he was one more word away from telling Mike to get out and driving all the way home. Forget the party, forget upsetting his mom – it wasn't worth it for this shit. No one had a right to tell him what was going to make him feel better.

"Okay," Mike spoke quietly, looking at with a considerable amount of shock. He gulped, fidgeting in his seat as the air rested uncomfortably around them. "I'm sorry."

"Shut up, dude," Puck sighed, cracking his neck from side to side in an event to de-stress. "I don't talk about this shit with anyone, so don't take it personally that I don't talk about it with you."

"Okay," he replied, silence coming over them. "So that's a no on the Puckleberry front?"

"For fuck's sake…"

… … … …

"Tina, it's not that big a deal."

"'Not that big a deal'?! Rachel, you've fought for every single solo that's ever been offered in Glee Club to the point where you've made Brittany cry and Santana put vodka in her water bottle. You can't expect me to sit here and just accept that this is okay!"

Tina was furious with her. While Tina was quite quiet in front of a large group of people, she was secretly one of the most competitive people Rachel had ever met. To her, Rachel giving Finn that solo was like surrendering to the enemy. What Tina didn't realise was that Rachel's confidence had been shot to pieces and she didn't even think she'd be able to stand on stage in front of an audience. She was surprised by herself, but the idea of performing on stage at all – never mind adding Finn to the equation – perked her anxiety levels to the point where she thought she was going to pass out. She was sick of everyone seeing her as this over-confident, annoying, goody-two-shoes that wasn't really her at all. Despite what people thought, Rachel was prone to getting panic attacks and being sick before going on stage – she'd just gotten good at controlling it and, if not, hiding it. Now, after today, she felt like she was back to square one. _Goddamnit, Rachel._

"Please stop being mad at me," Rachel moaned, pressing her forehead into her hands. Her head was pounding, the stress she was feeling taking a serious toll on her.

Tina took her eyes off the road for a split second, glancing at the girl next to her. While she's seen a new side to Rachel over the past few weeks, she'd never seen her so vulnerable. Rachel was normally so bubbly and up for anything – it was almost unnerving watching her crumble before her very eyes. She wanted to ask if this was more than the breakup with Finn, but she also didn't want to open the healing wounds.

"I'm not mad at you, Rach. I just want to understand what the hell you were thinking."

"I just… Can't handle being in the spotlight right now. I feel like everyone's looking at me, waiting for me to break. I'm not going to just go into emotional breakdown because of Finn Hudson, but I will if I have everyone breathing down my neck."

"Does pressure often affect you like this?" Rachel actually laughed.

"I wasn't lying when I said I was a good actress." Her and Tina shared a sideways look, Tina looking slightly worried, but choosing to drop the topic. Instead, a mischievous look crossed her face and it was Rachel's turn to be worried.

"So, you and Puck?.."

"Nope. Nuh-uh. I'm stopping you right there, missy. We are _not_ talking about this."

"You cannot tell me there wasn't something there!"

"There wasn't!" _Lie._ "I don't even want to be friends with Noah!" _Lie, again._

"'Noah,'" Tina replied slowly, giggling to herself as they twisted down another backroad. They were nearly at the camp and Rachel was kind of glad – she needed Mike to keep Tina company so she could forget about this conversation. Rachel did _not_ want to talk about Noah Puckerman. She didn't want the encouragement from Tina to think she stood a chance.

"Yes, Noah. That's his name. You forget we've been going to the same synagogue since we were four," Rachel scoffed, rolling her eyes at Tina. Rachel had flat-out refused to call Noah 'Puck'. She thought the nickname was utterly idiotic and a very vain attempt to make himself seem like a 'bad boy'. And, yeah, he was a bad boy. But that didn't take away from the fact that behind the tough guy exterior, there was still the sweet boy who helped Rachel learn to tie her shoelaces in first grade.

"Exactly! It's like a childhood romance that tragically died as you both ventured into high school, but could now be reincarnated into a beautiful Jewish butterfly of hope for both of you to pull you out of your darkest times!"

"I'm pretty sure butterflies can't be Jewish…"

"That is beside the point!" Tina yelled, the headlights of the car illuminating the driveway to the camp. It was pitch black outside and Rachel felt like she was entering a horror film – they were surrounded by woods, right next to a lake, and sleeping in log cabins. It was where she imagined Stephen King would base some terrifying supernatural thriller where two teenage girls are found with their insides ripped out by blood thirsty aliens. "You and Puck are both stuck in this miserable cycle of loneliness right now because you can't have what both of you want – you want to be in a stable relationship for once and Puck wants Quinn. Why not help each other to a middle ground-"

"Tina..." As they were pulling into the car park, there were already two cars there. One very flashy BMW that must have been the owner's. The other? Well…

"Where you can both come to realise that what you really need are significant others that are going to look out for you and love you like you both deserve-"

"Tina!"

"What?!"

"Is that… Noah's truck?"


	4. Chapter 4

When Rachel Berry walked through the double doors and into the welcome hall of the camp, Puck was more than surprised. Puck was fucking gobsmacked. He must have looked like he'd seen a ghost because he felt the blood completely drain from his face. He did _not_ sign up for this. He barely wanted to sign up for looking after little shits for pretty much the entirety of his summer – if he knew 'crazy-Berry' was part of that deal, he never would have considered it.

"Hi, boys!" Tina was annoyingly cheery and Mike had a smug smile on his face when he saw who she was with – his plan was falling into place. Meanwhile, Rachel was blushing the colour of a strawberry, twisting her hands together uncomfortably.

"What's she doing here?" Puck whispered harshly in Mike's ear as the girls got closer. Mike just rolled his eyes, elbowing him lightly in the chest in order to get him to shut up.

"Hey, T," Mike smiled, putting his arm around her waist and kissing the top of her head. "Rachel." He nodded his head at the crimson girl, who smiled awkwardly in response. Puck wasn't in the mood to take the long route around the situation.

"Sorry, can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?"

"I invited Rachel to come help us out at the camp. We can always use an extra pair of hands," Tina shrugged, a hint of a warning in her eyes that Puck chose to ignore.

"And no one thought to maybe inform me of this?" Puck was glaring harshly at the two Asians. He knew their game, he knew what they wanted. He wasn't going to get with Rachel Berry, no matter how much they wanted him too. And there was nothing they could do to change his mind.

"I didn't think it would be a problem," Tina responded through gritted teeth, the tension visible between the two of them. There was long silence, the two just looking at each other while Mike prayed that Puck would keep his mouth shut to save himself from the bollocking he would get later from his girlfriend.

"I can always… Go. If you want me to."

Puck registered the quiet voice and turned his attention to the flushed girl. This wasn't the Rachel Berry he was used to – one that was self-conscious and considerate of other people's feelings. He was used to the abrasive, interrupting know-it-all whose obnoxiously confident attitude never fluctuated. _Maybe this breakup with Finn was affecting her more than I thought it would._ He felt a pang of sympathy for her – she was having a rough time and he could have been slightly gentler with his wording, but he wasn't exactly pleased that he was going to be stuck with her all summer.

Tina looked at Rachel quickly before whirling back to face Puck, pure rage on taking over her. Puck rolled his eyes – if he didn't go along with this, Tina would probably rupture one of testicles with her thick heeled Doc Martins, and God knew that he didn't want that to happen.

"Just… Show me where I'm sleeping and where I can get something to eat. I'm fucking starving."

He glanced quickly at Rachel. She had this sort of subtle, appreciative smile on her face as she dropped her head, a few strands of hair falling from behind her ear. He couldn't help but think she looked sort of… Beautiful? Is that a word Noah Puckerman should be using to describe 'Crazy-Berry'? Sure, Rachel Berry was hot in terms of appearance. With her ballerina figure, her enticingly perfect and curvy legs, and her smooth complexion, there was no escaping that Rachel Berry was easy on the eye. She was hot in the same way that Santana and Brittany and, yeah, _Quinn,_ were hot - the easy kind of hot that just requires you to wear a short skirt and a revealing top and BAM, every boy within a five mile radius wants to fuck you. But Rachel had these moments – these natural and stripped back moments where you could see true beauty. When she wasn't trying to force herself to be completely perfect in every way, when she showed her cracks and stopped caring _so much,_ there was something about her that was absolutely breath-taking. Noah had just witnessed it when it was directed at him – and that felt pretty fucking good.

"We'll order pizza. Food doesn't get in until tomorrow morning," Mike replied, grabbing his attention again. "Come on, I'll show you your cabin."


End file.
